Death in Darfur

November 17, 2005|From the Miami Herald

The situation in the forlorn Darfur region of Sudan has gotten so bad that even unflappable diplomats are losing their etiquette. Last week, Deputy Secretary of State Robert B. Zoellick engaged in a red-faced shouting match with a local leader who wasn't coming clean about a raid that killed scores of villagers. As a rule, such behavior should be frowned on, but Zoellick was right to be angry. Sudanese officials have been lying, dissembling and hiding the truth about the goings-on in Darfur for so long that it's pointless to engage in polite diplomacy. The State Department must keep up the pressure and should make it clear that see-no-evil act isn't fooling anyone.